ATF/Dorado/Goonch/Datnoid PICS!!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Ok, cool ... I hear lots of people having success with cut up earthworms, thanks blk ... I just really dont want to order live blackworms if I dont have to .... think its just a matter of them becoming hungry enough, cause they look full and thick still ... thanks for the help ... I hear lots of people saying to feed them what the mother was eating, so I was hopeful they would take pellets quickly ... maybe they still will, I just dont think they are actively even looking for food yet

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So the little babies are becoming more bold, and have finally began feeding with the lights on, although they are still more active at night ... also found out I have 2 males and 2 females ... figure I'll hang onto them till they get a bit bigger, and get them eating pellets, then I'll sell them ... gonna try for a little feeding vid tonight

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I cant really say my Dorado has that gold color .... certainly not as gold as those photo's, his body is still more silver with a gold sheen ... I've heard that the gold color comes out as they get closer to their full size, and I've heard that the brassy's will get that gold color sooner than the franky's ... mine is a franky, but I eagerly await the day that he has that full gold color, and I also look forward to updates from DB Junkie and his brassy since theres only a handful of them around at best ... his specimen is one of the few brassy's and as he grows it will lend some insight into when they get the gold color, and whether they get it sooner than the franky's

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Biggest Dorado I remember on this board was H20 Mike's. I believe that thing was 2'+ and don't think it was that gold....

The gold color seems to be a mystery with these fish. Wonder if it's like blue motoros and the color comes from something we don't provide in captivity?

Our water is so different from their natural water that it could be possible they never turn gold in captivity. Our jobs are to grow these things up and find out!!! :) I just hope enough of us are looking at enough variables to narrow it down along the way......
 
My thoughts:

Three factors contribute to gold color.

1- Water perimeters. Wild caught fish display a very wide variation in displayed color. Even with wild caught specimens, it's fairly normal for them to NOT be completely gold, but instead to have largely silver flanks with some gold on the head, fins and tail. The ones that are extremely gold seem to come from darker water. Read: tannins soaked blackwater.

2- Time of the year. I'd wager that the time of the year affects the colors that an individual fish displays. I've also noticed that most, though not all, dorados seem to vary in color based on...

3- Gender. I've noticed that most of the big, colorful dorados are males. One can determine the gender of a dorado by observing the anal fin. Short of significant damage to the fin, males will have a curving fin with a noticeable anterior hook, females will have a smooth fin with no hook

I feel that the best colored individuals are males that come from highly stained waters during their breeding season. Most wild caught fish don't have the same vivid gold colors that are demonstrated by the fish I used in the guide. While often better colored than our aquarium specimens, most large dorados are fairly drab in comparison to the rare bright yellow specimens. I think that the most we can expect out of our tank raised fish is for them to be largely silver with black stripes and golden heads, tails, fins and possibly some yellow on the pelvic girdle and dorsal margin.
 
Thanks for the interest guys, been kind of busy for the last few months, and have been absent from MFK ... Everyone in the tank is doing well, Goliaths were fighting a bit, but seem to have calmed down now ... VATF and Armatus have grown quite a bit in the last few months, but the most growth goes to the bambusa .... he is already as long as my 20 inch plus tarpon and doesnt seem to be slowing in the least, he's a really neat and interesting fish ... nothing shy about him, in fact he is the only fish, aside from the goonches that has actually bit my hand, and boy did i scream like a girl!, more from surprise than injury ... as far as the pups go 2 passed about a month apart, think something was wrong from birth ... these 2 never grew since birth and just kind of wasted away, even though they were eating pellets .... the remaining 2 are getting big and are very healthy, eating like crazy, and have colored up nicely ... the parent rays are good as well, although doesnt look like the female is pregnant yet, although the male is certainly trying judging by the bites on her disk and his constant badgering of her ... i'll get some pics up in the next week or so ... thanks guys

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First and foremost, welcome back. It's good to hear from you! Glad the fish are doing well.

That being said,

Dude! How can you update without posting pics! :p
 
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